{{comic
| number = 2186
| date = August 7, 2019
| title = Dark Matter
| image = dark_matter.png
| titletext = To detect dark matter, we just need to build a bird feeder that spins two squirrels around the rim in opposite directions at relativistic speeds and collides them together.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DARK MATTER SQUIRREL ON A SPINNING BIRD FEEDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are talking about {{w|dark matter}}. Megan states that dark matter's density across the solar system is 0.3 GeV/cm3. Since Cueball likely does not have a science background, he does not understand what this means, so, to clarify, Megan explains that 0.3 GeV/cm3 equates to one squirrel's worth of dark matter for the volume of the Earth. For the last two panels, Cueball conflates this with dark matter actually ''being'' a squirrel for comedic effect, enraging Megan.

The {{w|gigaelectronvolt}} (GeV) is a unit of energy that can be converted to a mass using {{w|Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence|Einstein's formula}} ''E'' = ''mc''2. It is typically used for subatomic particles, such as the {{w|weakly interacting massive particles}} (WIMPs), one of several contending possibilities on the still-open question of the composition of sark matter, and the one which Megan's uniform density figure assumes constitutes most of it. For example, the mass of a proton is 0.938 GeV/''c''2. However it is frequent to omit the ''c''2 factor and to represent masses in GeV (or MeV). A mass represented as 0.3 GeV is equal to 5.35 × 10−25 grams [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)+in+grams].

This implies a {{w|squirrel}} has a mass of 580 g [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=(0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)%2Fcm%5E3)+*+(volume+of+earth)+in+grams] (about 1.3 lb), which is a typical mass among several species of common squirrels.

Here is a reference to a paper that comes up with the dark-matter density of 0.3 GeV/cm3: [https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.4033 On the local dark matter density].

The title text imagines using a spinning bird feeder like a {{w|particle accelerator}}, colliding hydrogen atoms at relativistic speeds to detect new and exciting particles like the {{w|Higgs boson}}. Note, however, that accelerating even [https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ one squirrel] to relativistic velocities would destroy the feeder and be deadly to any birds near the feeder (not to mention the squirrel).

[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring topic on xkcd, but are not a serious alternative to WIMPs as a scientific explanation for the composition of dark matter.

==Transcript==
:[Megan walks with Cueball. She is holding a hand out while telling Cueball something.]
:Megan: Dark matter density in the solar system is around 0.3 GeV/cm3
:Cueball: Is... that a lot?

:[As they continue to walk and talk she spreads her arms out.]
:Megan: In terms of mass, it means the Earth contains one squirrel worth of dark matter at any given time.
:Cueball: Wow.

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball stops while Megan walks past him. Megan is face-palming herself while looking down.]
:Cueball: Is there any way to find out which squirrel it is?
:Megan: No, it's not literally-

:[Cueball holds his hand with one finger up in front of Megan, while she has turned towards him and is holding both arms up, possible with balled fist, as she shouts back at him, shown both with large fat letters and with small lines emanating above her head.]
:Cueball: Oh, that explains why they weigh enough to set off those spinning bird feeders!
:Megan: '''''Dark matter isn't squirrels!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Physics]]

1980: Turkish Delight

2018-04-17T00:10:50Z

172.69.22.32: /* Explanation */ incorrect grammar is stylistically appropriate

{{comic
| number = 1980
| date = April 13, 2018
| title = Turkish Delight
| image = turkish_delight.png
| titletext = I take it Narnia doesn't have Cinnabons? Because if you can magic up a plate of those, I'll betray whoever.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BOT - I guess we could expand the second paragraph? But I don't know what to add... Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

''{{w|The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe}}'' is a fantasy novel by British novelist {{w|C. S. Lewis}}, the first published and best known of seven novels in ''{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}''. In it, a group of four sibling children discover another world called Narnia. At the beginning of the story, the land is in a perpetual winter caused by the {{w|White Witch}} (the antagonist of the story). One of the children, {{w|Edmund Pevensie}}, is approached by the White Witch and offered {{w|Turkish delight}}, a type of confection, in exchange for leading the other children to her. What the book says and what the movie leaves out is he doesn't know the sweets are enchanted by the White Witch to make the eater want them the more they eat them. Not a full mind control, but more of a strong urge to get more.

Turkish delight is very different from typical confections found in the modern Western world and isn't very popular in the United States. [[Randall]] comments that he was very disappointed when he tried Turkish delight, after having read in the novel about how delicious the characters considered it. If he were in Edmund's shoes, he would not have been persuaded.

[http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2005/12/the_lion_the_witch_and_the_really_foul_candy.html It is not uncommon for present-day Narnia fans to be disappointed when they try Turkish delight], as different as it is to modern confections. However, in the late Victorian era when Lewis grew up, [https://www.tor.com/2016/08/08/why-was-turkish-delight-the-ultimate-temptation-in-c-s-lewis-narnia/ Turkish delight was very popular in England]. Because it was nearly impossible for local confectioners to make properly, it had to be imported from Turkey, at great expense, making it a status symbol for the wealthy and a rare treat for those with less money. When Lewis wanted to come up with the perfect temptation for Edmund, he drew on his own childhood memories of a favorite rare and expensive treat--which would have been even harder to come by because of [https://flashbak.com/sugar-rationing-in-world-war-2-photos-13598/ sugar rationing during World War II], when the story was set.

{{w|Cinnabon}} (referenced in the title text) is a popular chain restaurant in the USA which serves mostly {{w|cinnamon roll|cinnamon buns}} covered in a thick, sugary glaze. The chain is not well known in Britain, but has recently opened a [https://www.cinnabon.co.uk/store-locator/ few restaurants], mainly in the London area. (A more common UK equivalent of the cinnamon bun is the {{w|Chelsea bun}}.) There are presumably no branches of Cinnabon in Narnia.{{Citation needed}}

A prescriptivist might claim that the title text contains a grammatical mistake: the word should be "whomever," as that is the objective case. However, a descriptivist would point out that many dialects no longer maintain this distinction except in highly formal contexts. Incorrect grammar is stylistically appropriate here: The author would lose control of himself to the point where he would betray anyone. A breakdown of formal grammatical correctness would accompany such a loss of control.

==Transcript==
:[A person wearing a cap, a fur coat, and gloves sits in a sled handing over a plate with small cubic pieces on it to a small boy with dark hair standing beneath. The boy's reaches one hand to the plate.]
:Person from the sled: Have some Turkish delight. If you betray your family, there's more where that came from.

:[The boy tastes one piece.]

:[The boy looks at that piece.]

:[The boy looks up, to the direction where the gift came from, the piece still in his hands.]
:Boy: Wow.
:Boy: This is...
:Boy: not great.

:[Caption below:]
:The ''Narnia'' books gave me a really unrealistic impression of how good Turkish delight tastes.

==Trivia==
*The world of Narnia is a recurring theme in [[xkcd]], with previous prominent appearances in [[665: Prudence]], [[821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 3]], [[969: Delta-P]], and [[1786: Trash]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]